Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Vélez Sarsfield Greatest All-Team Team

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.Vélez Sarsfield had their first major success in 1968, when they won the league championship, and subsequently made regular seasons between 1970 and 1990. The club have enjoyed their greatest period of success in the past two decades, winning 15 major trophies since 1993. They won the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup in 1994.

2013 Primera Divison

TeamGK: Jose Luis Chilavert (Paraguay)Known for his free kicks, he was an icon of his generation. He was South American Player of the Year in 1996. Against Argentina in a WCQ in 1997, he promised to score a goal before the match and he did score one. He led Paraguay to the round of 16 at both WC Finals in 1998 and 2002. He won 12 club titles, including the 1994 Copa Libertadores and the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, whilst playing for Vélez Sarsfield.

Jose Luis Chilavert

GK: Miguel Ángel Rugilo (Argentina) Rugilo made his debut in first division in 1937 playing for Vélez Sársfield, where he spent most of his career. He also played for Leon, Palmeiras,Tigre and O'Higgins of Chile. Rugilo retired in 1958 at 41. He was capped 4 times for Argentina. On May 9, 1951, when Argentina played against England at Wembley Stadium, he earned the nickname "El León de Wembley" ("The Lion of Wembley") for his performance and he would be called that way until his death in 1993.

GK: Miguel Marín (Argentina)Marín began his career with Vélez Sarsfield, where his club won its first ever Championship in 1968. Marín played for Cruz Azul of Mexico form 1971 until he retired in 1980, appearing in 309 Primera División de México matches. Marín was selected in the Argentina national football team squad for the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but did not appear in any matches. He also made two appearances for the senior side.

RB/RW: Fabián Cubero (Argentina)Cubero has played most of his professional career for Vélez Sársfield, winning five league titles with the team (spread over three different decades) and becoming the most capped player in the club's history (counting both domestic and international competitions). He played for them between 1996 and 2008, but played 2007-2008 season in Mexico. He was never capped at the senior level, but he won the Under 20 World Cup in 1997 with Argentina.

Fabián Cubero

CB: Islet Ovejero (Argentina) Ovejero began his career with Club Atlético Vélez Sarsfield, where he would win the 1968 Argentine first division. He played for Atlético Madrid between 1969 and 1974, winning the Spanish La Liga in 1970 and 1973, and the Copa del Rey in 1972. He also played for the Argentina national football team in the 1967 South American Championship.

CB: Roberto Trotta (Argentina)Trotta played club football in Argentina, Spain, Italy, Mexico and Ecuador. During his time in the Argentine Primera he set the record for the highest number of red cards ever with 17. Trotta was a member of several championship winning teams, the highlight of his career was helping Vélez Sársfield to win the 1994 Copa Libertadores.CB: Victorio Spinetto(Argentina) He played as a centre half, mostly for Vélez Sársfield in the Argentine Primera División, debuting with the club in 1932 and retiring in 1940. Apart from his career in Vélez, Spinetto played briefly for Platense and Independiente. Spinetto played for the Argentine national team between 1934 and 1936.CB: Ángel Allegri (Argentina) He played during his entire 14-year professional career for Vélez Sársfield in the Argentine Primera División, totaling 384 games and 36 goals. He is the third player with most appearances in the club's history, behind Fabian Cubero (who have 458) and Pedro Larraquy (who has 457). Allegri also has the negative record of most own goals scored in the Argentine Primera, with 7

Ángel Allegri

CB: José Luis Cuciuffo (Argentina) El Cuchu started his professional career at Chaco For Ever, but also played in Argentine Talleres de Córdoba, Vélez Sársfield, Boca Juniors and Belgrano de Córdoba. He also played in the French league with Nîmes Olympique. He earned 21 caps and best remembered for being a part of Argentina's World Cup winning team in 1986.

CB: Oscar RuggeriOscar Ruggeri played in 3 World Cup Finals, winning the one in 1986 and finishing second in 1990. He was La Liga Foreign Player of the Year in 1989 and South American Player of the Year in 1991. He played for both River Plate and Boca Juniors as well as Real Madrid in Spain. He also had career with Vélez Sarsfield, San Lorenzo, etc.

Oscar Ruggeri

LB: Raul Cardozo (Argentina)Cardozo, nicknamed Pacha started his playing career with Vélez Sársfield during the 1986-87 season. He went on to play over 350 games for the club. He played during the golden era of the club in the mid-1990s when they won 9 major titles, including the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Intercontinental in 1994. He also played for Newell's Old Boys, Chacarita Juniors, Nacional in Uruguay, Olimpia in Paraguay and finally Villa Dálmine in the lower leagues of Argentine football. He earned 4 caps.DM: Christian Bassedas (Argentina)He was an important part of Vélez Sarsfield's most successful years during the 1990s. He won four national championships with the club, and five international (including the 1994 Intercontinental Cup, where he was a starter in the 2-0 victory over A.C. Milan). In 2000, he joined Newcastle United for £3,500,000. He played for them in the period 2000–2003, though on loan to Tenerife briefly during the 2001–02 season. In 2003, he joined Argentine Newell's Old Boys, but he decided to retire from football soon after. Capped 22 times.

DM:Diego Simeone (Argentina)Simeone started his career with Velez Sarsfield before moving to Europe. He first joined Pisa and Sevilla before going to Atletico Madrid. He won the Double with them in 1995-1996. He then moved to Inter Milan, where he won the UEFA Cup in 1998. In 1999, he moved to Lazio. Again, he won the Double. He returned to Atletico Madrid in 2003 and played for Racing Club before his retirement. For Argentina, he was capped 106 times. He won Copa America in 1991 and 1993. He went to play in three WC Finals; 1994, 1998 and 2002. In 1998, he had the famous incident with David Beckham. CM: José Basualdo (Argentina)He played with many clubs in Argentina and Spain, and a brief stint with Stuttgart in Germany. He was remembered for winning two Copa Libertadores: one with Velez Sarsfield in 1994 and another one with Boca Juniors in 2000. Basualdo played 31 games for the Argentina between 1989 and 1995. He went to both 1990 and 1994 World Cups.DM/CM: Pedro Larraquy (Argentina)He spent the majority of his playing career at Vélez Sársfield, where he set a record number of appearances with 455. He also scored 82 goals. His goals tally leaves him in 5th place in the club's all-time scorers list. Between 1987 and 1988 Larraquy played for San Lorenzo de Almagro, he retired in 1988. He was capped 4 times.

Pedro Larraquy

DM: Carlos Ischia (Argentina)He started with Chacarita Juniors and then joined Velez Sarsfield in 1979. In 1984, he moved to Colombia. He played Junior de Barranquilla and America of Cali. With America, he reached the Copa Libertadores Final in 1986, but losing to River Plate. In 1989, he returned to Argentina. Again, he would play for the same two clubs before retiring.

LW: Juan Carone (Argentina)Carone is nicknamed "Pichino", that means "Kid" in Italian. He is most notable for his period in Vélez Sársfield (1964–1969), where he scored 76 goals in 149 games in the Argentine Primera División. With Vélez, he was the top goalscorer of the Argentine Primera División in the 1965 championship (with 19 goals), and was part of the league title winning team in 1968, though he played rarely in the latter due to an injury. He played for Argentina during the WC qualifiers in 1966, but did not travelled to England for the Finals.

AM/CM: Daniel Willington (Argentina)He started his playing career in the late 1950s with local club Talleres de Córdoba. In 1962 he joined Vélez Sársfield where he became a regular member of the first team, in 1968 he was part of the team that won Nacional 1968, the first league title obtained by the club. After leaving Velez, Willington played for Huracán and Instituto de Córdoba before returning to Talleres de Córdoba in 1974. Capped 6 times.

Daniel Willington

FW: Norberto Conde (Argentina)Norberto Conde is best remembered for his career with Velez Sarsfield where he formed a partnership with Ernesto Sansone, Juan José Ferraro, Osvaldo Zubeldía, and Juan Carlos Mendiburu. Conde was subsequently Argentine Primera División top scorer in the 1954 season. He also played for Huracán and Atlanta. He was a part of the national team that won South American Championship(now Copa America) in 1955.FW: Ivan Mayo (Chile)Mayo is remembered for being the first Chilean to shine in Argentine football. Mayo started his career with San Luis de Quillota in 1925 before moving to Colo-Colo in 1931. In 1933, he joined Vélez Sarsfield of Argentina , eventually became a captain of the team. After an injury he suffered in 1938, he moved back home. Club Deportivo Ivan Mayo of Villa Alemana in Chile is named after him. FW: Omar Asad (Argentina) As a player, Asad spent all of his career in Vélez Sársfield, winning 8 titles with the club (including both the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup). He was chosen Man of the Match for the victory against A.C. Milan at the Intercontinental Cup. .Asad is nicknamed el Turco (in English: "the Turk") because he has Syrian and Lebanese ethnicity. His uncle Julio Asad is an all-time great at the club. He was capped twice.

Omar Asad

ST: Agustín Cosso (Argentina)Cosso started his career as a left back, but later converted to a forward. He began with Club River Plate of Junín. In 1933, he joined Velez Sarsfield. By 1937, he joined Flamingo in Brazil. He also played Banfield and San Lorenzo before returning Velez Sarsfield.ST: José Oscar Flores (Argentina)Flores started his career with Vélez Sarsfield in 1990, going on to play a major part in the clubs most successful era in the mid-1990s. He won seven major titles, including the 1994 edition of the Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup. In 1996, Flores went to Spain. Las Palmas, Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Valladolid, RCD Mallorca and Ciudad de Murcia before returning to Argentina in 2004 with Club Atlético Independiente. With Deportivo, he won the club's first ever La Liga title in 2000. Capped twice for Argentina.

ST: Juan José Ferraro (Argentina)Ferraro started his youth career with Vélez Sársfield, and debuted with the first team in the early 1940s. He holds the distinction of scoring the first goal in the Estadio José Amalfitani's history. In 1949, Ferraro joined Boca Juniors, who was struggling to avoid relegation from the first division. The forward helped Boca avoid relegation, and stayed in the club until 1953. He also played for Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia. Ferraro played with the Argentine national team in the 1940s and 1950s, winning the 1945 South American Championship.ST: Carlos Bianchi (Argentina)Carlos Bianchi debuted with Vélez Sarsfield at the age of 18. In 1973, Bianchi was signed by Stade de Reims in France, where he was top scorer in Lique in 1974, 1976 and 1977. In 1977 he joined Paris Saint-Germain in which Bianchi was again the top scorer of the league in 2 seasons spent in the club. he also played for Strasbourg. He is the top scorer in the history of Vélez Sarsfield with 206. Capped 14 times between 1970 and 1972.

Carlos Bianchi

Honorable MentionClaudio Husaín, Nicolás Otamendi, Oscar Ruggeri, Mauricio Pellegrino, Ricardo Gareca, Mauro Zarate, Rolando Zárate, Sergio Zárate, Lucas Pratto, Juan Carlos Bujedo, Julio Asad , Emiliano Papa, Carlos Ischia, Carmelo Simeone, Luis Gallo, Leandro Somoza, Roberto Pompei, Ernesto Sansone, Osvaldo Zubeldía, and Juan Carlos Mendiburu, Omar Wehbe, Patricio Camps, Agustín CossoSqaud Explanation-- Fabián Cubero played over 500 matches for the club.-- I have limited information on Carmelo Simeone.-- The centerback position is the most difficult to select. Mauricio Pellegrino and Nicolas Otamendi were the last centerbacks dropped. -- Oscar Ruggeri seldom mentioned as an all-time great for the club, but he was South American Footballer of the Year while playing for them. -- Nicolás Otamendi played a single season, but he was sensational that year.-- Diego Simone was home grown.-- Miguel Marín, Luis Gallo, Iselín Ovejero, Daniel Willington, Omar Wehbe, Juan Carone and Carlos Bianchi were from their first championship team in 1968.-- I rewarded many members of the 1994 Copa Libertadores winning squad on the team or at least received an honourable mention.-- All three members of the Zárate brothers made the honourable mention list.-- Ivan Mayo was the first player from Chile who made a name in Argentina.Formation